A New Dawn for Humanity (random thoughts on Artemis 2 launch)

 

When I was a kid, I stayed glued to the tv screen as long as possible before having to leave for school. I didn't ever want to miss a launch. If NASA had to delay, and I had to leave, I took my transistor radio and listened on the way. Sometimes I surreptitiously listened with a small wired earbud while Sister Mary Delores droned on about whatever lesson I wasn't at all interested in.

I was, I suppose, like almost every American kid. I was proud. I thought of being an astronaut. 

I don’t think I had the scientific aptitude that it would have taken, but somewhere in my elementary school age mind, I knew it was important. 

I watched all of those early NASA missions. Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Whether they wanted to be or not, those first astronauts were heroes, made that way by the American press and ticker tape parades. 

We got to the Moon. Walked on it. And then stopped. Haven’t been back there since 1972.


Since then, Earth’s scientists have built a space station and flew several missions with a shuttle which was basically a flying semi. Two of those shuttles exploded killing all on board. 

Since those last steps on the Moon, we humans have more than doubled our population. The world is warmer and the only thing that might save our species is either leaving the earth or just wait until Artificial Intelligence wipes us out. 

It always pissed me off that we stopped going, stopped exploring, stopped the promise of Star Trek and Twilight Zone. Even though I was no scientist, I applied for the ill fated Teacher in Space program. 

So today, when I watched Artemis 2 successfully launch, I was glad and hopeful. 

 

 Some people will decry the expense of these and other such advances into space. They will, rightfully, point out the income inequality in the world, the housing problems, the hunger in many countries. 

Many of these same people continue to ignore that humanity has fucked itself into too many people, too many mouths to feed. Many of these same people live in houses with far more rooms than needed, with a house for their cars and a vacation home in the country. 

I suspect that many of them have said during the pandemic that we should be paying attention to the experts and trust the science behind vaccines. I say trust the science that will take humanity to the stars. 


I may never be that astronaut, but I hope we humans will survive to have many of them. 

A Parcel's Travels - Humans Do It Better

Every family has legendary stories that get told over over and over and passed down through generations. One of the stories in my family involves the United States Postal Service, which has existed since Ben Franklin was the first Postmaster. 


Over the 250 year history of the country, letters and packages have made it to their destinations through the hard work and dedication of the men and women of the system. That service and dedication has been told in print and film countless times, from tales of the Pony Express to Kevin Kostner’s The Postman. 

My first wife and I lived in Racine, Wisconsin for over 40 years. We moved four times - from apartments to a house to a condo and had always received our mail on time. We had been our second apartment for a couple of years when my wife’s grandmother sent us a card from where she lived in Mishicot, up North about 120 miles from us. We got the card two days later, but had to laugh and marvel.  

Grandma Josie’s handwriting wasn’t the best. She was, after all, 85 years old. What got us wondering, though, was how the postal service was able to deliver an envelope that simply was addressed:



Tim and Cathie

Racine

I wish I had saved that envelope, but I’M NOT MAKING THAT UP!

Racine was populated with about 85000 people, the second largest city in the state at the time. Maybe if the card’s route was reversed and we addressed it “Grandma Josie, Mishicot,” it would have made sense. I mean how many Grandma Josie’s could be in a town of 750 folks? 

The men and women of the postal system had a job and they did it. Today, however, a lot of their work is done by machines and that’s where the trouble starts. 

A friend sent me a poster that I had been looking for. It was in a sturdy tube and eventually got to me via a rather circuitous route. For the fourteen bucks my friend spent, it was supposed to have taken only one day to travel from New York to me in Illinois. Instead it took almost a month. 

I finally called the postal service’s help center and found out that it was in a warehouse where is went after Memphis. Why it went to Memphis after Indiana, I have no idea. The woman I spoke with did her due diligence and found the package but said, “I have to be honest. I don’t think you’re going to receive it. There’s a spelling discrepancy in the address.”



Evidently the scanners of the Postal Service  that are supposed to make things go faster and more smoothly can’t do what humans can do. The machines can’t tell that BVLD should have been BLVD. 


I’m glad that somebody at the undisclosed warehouse location figured that out and made a handwritten label. I don’t think it was the person who got Grandma Josie’s card to the right address, but that’s the kind of human work that machines and artificial intelligence will never be able to. 





January 20 - what the inauguration means to me

 

Monday, January 20, is Inauguration Day because that’s the date set by the 20th Amendment of the Constitution. This year, Joe Biden leaves his career and his Presidency at 12:00 noon as required by law. The next guy, who was also the former guy before Biden, takes the same oath he did in 2016.

By coincidence, Monday is also a federal holiday. The third Monday of January is dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. KIng’s real birthday is January 15, but somewhere Congress decided to make most federal holidays always happen on a Monday. It gives people a reason for a three day weekend. He would have been 95 this year.

The King Center’s theme this year is “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence365.” I can’t help but suspect that the theme is a response to the next guy coming in. The next guy has a long history of not placing value on freedom or justice. He’s also the guy who wanted to shoot protesters in the legs. I don’t think he wants anything to do with nonviolence, let alone promote it year round.

A good way to honor Dr. King is to commit to doing something for your community. Spend some time volunteering for something. Help out at a public school or library. Get to a food bank. Shovel the driveway of your senior neighbor. Almost anything that shows you belong in your community, that you care for it and the people around you. It’s a lot better than listening to the next guy spout his usual nonsense.

January 20 is also important, at least to me, because it would be my Dad’s 112th birthday. My commitment for January 20 is to be more like him. This was my Dad before he married Mom.

He was a good guy. So is Joe Biden. So was Dr. King. The next guy, not so much.

Music Today - Is the Business Model Working for Everyone?

At Ravinia I’ve seen the Chicago Symphony playing Beethoven and the Chicago Opera performing Mozart’s “Magic Flute.” I’ve heard Ella Fitzgerald skat and Tony Bennett croon. 

Over the years I’ve seen and heard jazz, blues, country, folk, Latin big bands, classical, opera, and dance. It’s safe to say that since it opened in 1904 Ravinia Festival has presented the most diverse collection of music and performance of any venue in the country.

I’ve sat in the Pavilion and lounged with wine and beer and snacks in the park. I’ve sat in the front row for Bonnie Raitt and just watched Aretha Franklin on one of the rare times the park puts up a viewing screen. I sat in the dark and listened to my eventual step son ask his mom if we could go home and she said sternly, “No! It’s Tony Fucking Bennett!” I knew then I was going to get married to the woman of my dreams. (That’s a whole other long story that I’ll tell sometime.)

Ravinia, perhaps more than other venues, is about the music and the company of family and friends.

But …  

The music business is different from when the park opened. 

Taylor Swift and Beyonce fill entire stadiums and arenas. So do the legacy rock acts like the Stones. People are ready and apparently able to afford a ticket at a cost that could feed a family of four for a week. And that’s if they can get a ticket when they actually go on sale. 

I am not berating them or the high cost of those tickets. I’ve done short tours with my wife. Just the two of us lugging our own stuff in our own vehicle. The costs add up. I can only imagine what major artists have to pay to cover their expenses on tour. 

I’m not berating the high fees that Ticketmaster and others charge, although that is something that can and should be looked into by state and federal legislatures. 

In the aftermarket scalping sites a single ticket to Taylor Swift in Indianapolis starts at $2000. And, again, some people desperate to see their favorite artist are ready and able to spend that much. All the more power to them.

But…

That initial ticket price that could feed a family for a week, could feed that family for a month or longer. 

That two grand spent for one concert means two grand that won’t go to other artists, lesser know artists, lower profile artists, the artists coming up, the artists playing in coffeeshops and bars, artists playing background noise at farmer markets.

The artists playing at places like Ravinia.

The Pavilion at Ravinia seats a little over 3000 people. Prices range about 90-125 bucks, depending on the seats and the artist. Lawn seats go from 50-85 bucks. As I wrote above, I’ve seen concerts in all sections of the park. 

I saw Lyle Lovett and his full band in the Pavilion a couple of months ago. I’d say the seats were about 75% full. but true professional that he is, he gave a great performance. 

 

 I’ve talked to people who have also seen shows at Ravinia this year, and they’ve noticed lower attendance, too.

I got an email from Ravinia offering 50% off of Pavilion seats for some upcoming shows through September. Artists like The Roots and Jason Isbell are not sold out. As I am writing this, over 1000 seats are still available for both those artists. 

Ravinia is not alone. I’ve noticed empty seats in other venues. And some of those places are closing.

I don't know if it's a post Covid malaise and slow recovery or something else.

I don’t know if venues are pricing themselves out of business, if artists are asking too much, or if the market is just saturated. Or if people just aren’t going because streaming and Sirius offer so much music for considerably less than a ticket. I mean there’s only so much money that people have before they have to feed that family of four. 



Taylor Swift, Beyonce, The Stones, and others are making money, but I fear it isn’t trickling down. 

Some Unpopular Thoughts - about music, the Olympics, and more

The Newport Folk Festival has disappointed me the past couple of years. It started when the music returned after the pandemic lay off.

The festival once sported four stages, three main ones and one intimate stage called the Museum Stage. It was where lesser known artists played and where surprises . I saw a hurdy gurdy played by Donald and Anicet Heller. From two Swedish women I learned about their country’s native instrument the nyckelharpa.

I saw artists up close and personal, just them and a guitar, like Jeff Tweedy and Kris Kristofferson.

And I saw special moments like this that made Jay Sweet weep:

They closed the Museum Stage after the pandemic. When my wife and I were asked to busk at the festival we said the Museum Stage steps is where we wanted to set up. It held a special place in our hearts, and always will.

The festival added two small stages outdoors. Festival goers seem to like them, but I don’t. Both are near the main stages and artists get to perform maybe twenty minutes between sets on the bigger stages. Sometimes the sound checks from the bigger stages interferes and cuts a set short.

The Museum stage was quiet. People could and did just listen. I saw music from around the world, you know, the folk music, the obscure not necessarily in vogue let alone famous. I miss that.

***

One year Dolly Parton made a surprise appearance at the festival. That was fun to see. The next year, Brandi Carlile, who convinced Parton to show up, worked her magic on Joni Mitchell. They set up the stage to look like Mitchell’s living room. Mitchell sat on her “throne” and eventually played some songs herself. It was nice to hear, but because the stage was lower than in previous years, only people standing in the front area could actually see much.

That was okay. I know Mitchell is an icon, but to be honest, I never really cared that much for her music. Same thing with the Beach Boys.

I told you it might be unpopular opinions here today.

***

The Paris Olympics are finally over. The French were French. The Opening Ceremony was, uh, kinda weird and kinda cool at the same time. The Barcelona Olympic torch lighting remains the coolest of all time.

Muhammed Ali lighting the torch in Atlanta remains the most touching for me.

As for this year’s Olympics, or any Olympics, some I loved and always will. Some I just don’t understand. Some unpopular thoughts:

Breakdancing is NOT a sport. Yes, it was fun to watch, I don’t know why they included it.

I will never be able to do a backflip or jump nine feet in the air while twisting and summersaulting, but anything that involves judges determining the winner should not be in the Olympics. I prefer faster, higher, stronger, farther things. Things that can objectively determine who is best on a particular day.

Equestrian competition in basically for elite rich people.

Esther Williams made synchronized swimming popular in the movies. That’s where it should stay.

I still think rhythmic gymnastics is for people who can’t do regular gymnastics.

***

Last thoughts about the Newport Folk Festival.

My wife and I didn’t go this year. Of all the acts that were announced this year, only one would we have truly wanted to see. Ten of so performers we have seen before, some numerous times. The rest, with every new lineup announcement, our reaction was either “who?” or “huh?”

At the 2022 festival, Willi Carlisle said he was walking around the grounds, wondering “Where’s the folk?” Yeah, I know Louis Armstong famously said, “It’s all folk music. I ain’t hear no horse playing,” but I ‘ve been wondering that, too. 

Where are the Hurdy Gurdy Band, the nyckelharpa players and others?

We had to wear ear plugs last year for the first time. Music doesn’t have to be loud to be enjoyable. If the people on the beer dock and in the harbor in their boats want to hear the music, let them get tickets.

And about those tickets. The first two years I went to the festival, I went online the day they went on sale. I had no problem getting two three day passes. Then the Festival Foundation started offering early bird opportunities for donations to the Foundation. Once word got out about that, more and more people started donating to the Foundation. Now tickets sell out almost immediately.

They have a strict policy of renewing membership only during the festival. This leaves only those in attendance the opportunity to get early bird status. And as more and more people do this, it decreases the number of passes allowed to the general public.

It might seem like a good idea, but I think there’s a point of diminishing return. Instead of where’s the folk, I fear it will lead to just the same folk, the same fans if not the same artists.

Traveling Wildfire - a music review

 Traveling Wildfire

Released in 2023
2024 Grammy nomination for best folk album

Smithsonian Folkways released this Dom Flemons album in 2023. I liked it then and just relistened to it today.

I met Dom Flemons at Pickathon in 2015 and have seen him a couple of times. He is an educator at heart with his music and continues stressing the importance and influence of the forgotten parts of our history as he did in Black Cowboys, his 2018 release for Smithsonian.

On his most recent album, Traveling Wildfire, he truly drives the lesson home with "Nobody Wrote It Down."

Although many of the songs are Flemons's originals, the album also include some real gems in his arrangements and interpretations of little known pieces by other artists. I particularly liked what he does with Dylan's "Guess I'm Doing Fine" and Eric Andersen's "Song to JCB."

There's a good lesson to be learned in Flemons's music. Go learn it.

Mocarski grade: A-

Misusing Language (a minor rant)

 George Orwell had some advice about writing.

“Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Never use a long word where a short one will do. If it is possible to cut a word out always cut it out. Never use the passive voice where you can use the active. Never use a foreign phrase a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.”

It’s easy to find that sentiment expressed in various ways.

Mark Twain, for example, said “Don't use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.”

In short the meaning, whether from Orwell, or Twain, or anyone else, is simple.

Don’t use big words when a perfectly good small word says the same thing.

I was on threads and went down a proverbial rabbit hole. A young lady was in a video. Briefly, she was talking about people idolizing a convicted murderer who had a swastika tattoo on his face. She was obvious about her disdain of such behavior and idolatry.

I listened to her and my reaction was, okay, but huh? 

Yeah, whoever she was talking about is a bad, even horrible, person. But I got distracted by her presentation, specifically her use of some words.

She said the guy “unalived two women.” He then tried to “unalive” his girlfriend. He was, according the speaker a “serial unaliver”

Later in the video she said he acted “bruthlessly” toward his victims.

Then she lit in on her “mutuals” because they were “commenting things” about the guy and his trial.

According the Oxford English Dictionary, “unalive” is indeed a word. It first appeared in print in 1820 as an adjective. Somehow or another, TikTok and other social media has decided that posts about killing and suicide pose a great threat. To bypass social media censorship people now use the word as a verb and a noun.

Thus to translate what the lady was trying to say, the guy killed two women and tried to murder his girlfriend. And, while no Ted Bundy, the guy by definition is a serial killer.

The woman states at the beginning of the video that she is literally shaking. I owe her mashup of “brutally” and “ruthlessly” into “bruthlessly” to that.

When she mentions her “mutuals” I am assuming she means her friends or followers on social media and not mutual funds that she may be invested in.

I don’t know what her friends were saying, but people say things, they don’t comment things as far as I know.

Language changes over time in meaning and usage. New words come in and old words fade out. Nobody knew what an “astronaut” was until it was first used to describe a person in space. I don’t know if anybody still owns an “icebox” to store food in their kitchen. There are many similar words nobody uses much anymore, if at all.

Sometimes, though, when a reader or listener gets distracted by words that are not familiar or simply don’t make sense, communication is lost.

To the use a small word rule, I’d add don’t make stuff up.